Doctors’ Day 2020: Going beyond in a pandemic

Each May 1, Ontario celebrates Doctors’ Day to recognize the contributions of physicians across our province. At William Osler Health System (Osler), we could not be prouder of the more than 1,000 doctors who choose to practice at our hospitals and provide invaluable care in our community.

For many, Doctors' Day resonates a little more this year. As COVID-19 creates unprecedented challenges, the pandemic is requiring new ways of working together – and at Osler, many of our highly-skilled doctors have been providing support to various areas of our hospitals where they are most needed, including emergency departments and critical care units.

It’s a shift that Dr. Roberta Minna, Osler’s Corporate Chief of Surgery, has experienced firsthand. Since the outbreak, she has worked at a COVID-19 Assessment Centre and assisted in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to help support care for the most critically ill patients.

To learn how to care for patients with COVID-19, “a number of physicians have taken it upon themselves to shadow ICU doctors over the last number of weeks, just voluntarily on their own time,” Dr. Minna says. Despite their differing specialties, all doctors have “very translatable skills,” she explains. “That's what medicine teaches you.”

This willingness to contribute in new ways has not gone unnoticed by their colleagues. “I think doctors, inherently, answer the call to serve,” notes ICU physician Dr. Shankar Sivananthan. “What’s incredible to me is seeing other doctors go completely out of their element to help out. My first week in the ICU during COVID-19, I was joined by veteran surgeons who took a step back and acted as residents, helping care for ICU patients and absorbing all the knowledge they could in case they would be independently caring for them.”

One of those surgeons, Osler Urologist Dr. Rajiv Gupta, explains that he felt compelled to help. In the early days of the pandemic, he was one of several surgeons who closed their practices and volunteered to work in the ICU. In the fight against COVID, “the most important thing,” Dr. Gupta says, “has been our collaborative approach. The ICU doctors have been amazing. Watching nurses – who are truly on the frontlines – sacrifice and risk everything is incredible. Pharmacists, dietitians, cleaning staff – everyone is working together.”

Osler Emergency Physician Dr. Tajinder Kaura, who has also volunteered at a COVID Assessment Centre, agrees. “Medicine is truly a team sport,” he notes. “It’s never been more important that we work together, and I don’t think we’ve ever had this degree of teamwork before. We are constantly sharing updates and information, learning from one another and strategizing how we’re going to support patients through this virus, together.”

The collaborative spirit extends beyond Osler’s walls, particularly in service of the most vulnerable. “Long-term care residents have been especially affected by this virus,” explains Dr. Amit Arya, a frontline physician and lead of Osler’s Palliative Care Consulting Program for long-term care (LTC).

Dr. Arya is actively involved in a multidisciplinary COVID-19 action team and is leveraging technology to support LTC residents, family members and physicians. In light of social distancing, “we’re providing care a little differently these days,” he concedes, “but we continue to provide the best possible care.”

It’s that commitment and dedication that makes this Doctors’ Day especially poignant. “On behalf of the Osler community, I would like to thank all the doctors who go above and beyond, today and every day,” says Dr. David Borts, Osler’s Interim Chief of Staff. “We are fortunate to have such exceptional physicians, not only in terms of their clinical knowledge and expertise, but also their incredible dedication and compassion. They do it for their patients, their community, and their health care colleagues. We are extremely grateful.”

For the physicians on the frontlines, challenge and sacrifice have their own rewards. “I went into medicine for a reason,” Dr. Gupta notes. “It’s a great opportunity to give back.”